George Thoms
Encyclopedia
George Ronald Thoms OAM (22 March 1927 - 29 August 2003) was an Australia
n cricket
er who played in one Test
in 1952. He played 18 first-class matches for Victoria
, one in 1946, and then more regularly from 1951-2 to 1953-54.
Born in Footscray, Victoria
, Thoms attended Melbourne University, where he opened the batting with Colin McDonald. He also played first-class cricket for Victoria alongside McDonald, and they both made their Test debut in the 5th Test against West Indies
at Sydney
in January 1952, alongside fellow debutant Richie Benaud
.http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1950S/1951-52/WI_IN_AUS/WI_AUS_T5_25-29JAN1952.html Uniquely, Thoms and McDonald opened the batting together for a Test team, state team, and club team in that season. A solid, rather than spectacular, batsman, he scored 16 and 28. Thoms was dismissed hit wicket
in the second innings, treading on the stumps after pulling a Frank Worrell
delivery for four.
Johnnie Moyes
, pre-eminent cricket historian, wrote hyperbolically of this modest beginning: "He was a player of negative qualities, and one gained the impression that a competent leader could close him down to an occasional single for hours at a time, not the type of batsman for whom there could be any international future. It was no surprise that his first Test was also his last."
Thoms retired from representative cricket to concentrate on his medical career, fearful that a hand injury could end his ambitions as a surgeon. He is thought to be the only Test cricketer to have been a gynaecologist. He introduced laser surgery
to Australia in 1970s and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1996. Jim Thoms
, his elder brother, was a noted Australian rules football
er and national table tennis champion.
During 1950 and 1951 Thoms was a member of the VFL Umpires Association and field umpired 16 matches of Australian football in various country leagues across Victoria. He also officiated in a single VFL Second Eighteens (later VFL Reserve Grade) match in June 1951.
He attended a reunion of 150 Australian Test cricketers in Sydney on 11 July 2003. He died a few weeks later, in Melbourne, Victoria.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played in one Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in 1952. He played 18 first-class matches for Victoria
Victorian Bushrangers
The Victorian cricket team, nicknamed the Bushrangers, is an Australian cricket team based in Melbourne, that represents the state of Victoria. It is administered by Cricket Victoria and draws its players from Melbourne's Premier Cricket competition...
, one in 1946, and then more regularly from 1951-2 to 1953-54.
Born in Footscray, Victoria
Footscray, Victoria
Footscray is a suburb 5 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Footscray had a population of 11,401....
, Thoms attended Melbourne University, where he opened the batting with Colin McDonald. He also played first-class cricket for Victoria alongside McDonald, and they both made their Test debut in the 5th Test against West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in January 1952, alongside fellow debutant Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
.http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1950S/1951-52/WI_IN_AUS/WI_AUS_T5_25-29JAN1952.html Uniquely, Thoms and McDonald opened the batting together for a Test team, state team, and club team in that season. A solid, rather than spectacular, batsman, he scored 16 and 28. Thoms was dismissed hit wicket
Hit wicket
Hit wicket is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is governed by Law 35 of the laws of cricket. The striker is out "hit wicket" if, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride and while the ball is in play, his wicket is put down by his bat or his person...
in the second innings, treading on the stumps after pulling a Frank Worrell
Frank Worrell
Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell is sometimes referred to by his nickname of Tae and was a West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator...
delivery for four.
Johnnie Moyes
Johnnie Moyes
Alban George "Johnny" Moyes MBE MC was a cricketer who played for South Australia and Victoria. Following his brief playing career, Moyes, a professional journalist, he later gained greater fame as a writer and commentator on the game.As a right-hand batsman Moyes scored 883 runs at an average of...
, pre-eminent cricket historian, wrote hyperbolically of this modest beginning: "He was a player of negative qualities, and one gained the impression that a competent leader could close him down to an occasional single for hours at a time, not the type of batsman for whom there could be any international future. It was no surprise that his first Test was also his last."
Thoms retired from representative cricket to concentrate on his medical career, fearful that a hand injury could end his ambitions as a surgeon. He is thought to be the only Test cricketer to have been a gynaecologist. He introduced laser surgery
Laser surgery
Laser surgery is surgery using a laser to cut tissue instead of a scalpel. Examples include the use of a laser scalpel in otherwise conventional surgery, and soft tissue laser surgery, in which the laser beam vaporizes soft tissue with high water content...
to Australia in 1970s and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1996. Jim Thoms
Jim Thoms
Jim Thoms was an Australian rules footballer who played forFootscray in the Victorian Football League .Thoms, a speedy rover, was good enough to represent the VFL in both 1941 and 1946. Pushed forward in 1946, his final season, Thoms kicked 50 goals and at least one in each of his 19 games for the...
, his elder brother, was a noted Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er and national table tennis champion.
During 1950 and 1951 Thoms was a member of the VFL Umpires Association and field umpired 16 matches of Australian football in various country leagues across Victoria. He also officiated in a single VFL Second Eighteens (later VFL Reserve Grade) match in June 1951.
He attended a reunion of 150 Australian Test cricketers in Sydney on 11 July 2003. He died a few weeks later, in Melbourne, Victoria.